[alt-photo] Re: The Illusive Black Cyanotype - Any Insight?

[Francesco Fragomeni]

I received a coffee toning recipe a few minutes ago that I haven't tried
before. Examples look pleasing. I'll be trying this soon. Anyone have
success with this?

-Francesco

On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 7:32 PM, Francesco Fragomeni
<fdfragomeni at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I've been working for some time to achieve a black cyanotype but to no
> avail. I mean true black and grays, not the purples, eggplants, and other
> hues that can be achieved rather easily. I am 100% sure that it is possible
> because I have seen examples in private collections. I have also seen a few
> rare examples (unsubstantiated) on the web but I've been unable to initiate
> conversations with anyone who has made one successfully. I've tried most of
> the toning recipes and none of these achieve anything close to what I'm
> looking for plus they have a tendency to stain the paper base. Tonight I
> tried the nitric acid (nasty stuff so be careful)/ sodium carbonate/ gallic
> acid recipe which is purportedly capable of rendering a black cyanotype.
> This recipe produced more of a dark grayish purple in the shadows and a much
> more obvious purple cast to the highlights. Now this may be worth
> experimenting with again because my tests were based on re-soaking already
> dry prints rather then making fresh ones which could possibly make a
> difference (I couldn't make new prints because I'm waiting on a printing
> frame to arrive to replace my unusable one). Can anyone here offer any
> insight into how to achieve the illusive black cyanotype?? It would be so
> unbelievably appreciated. Thank you!
>
> -Francesco Fragomeni
>